Once we were at war with God, but now we have peace with God. How do we live in this world and age of anxiety and experience that peace? Usually we try to remove things that destroy our peace or numb ourselves to our anxiety with medicine. But the only way to experience the peace of God is to "Stand firm in the Lord". And how you "Stand firm in the Lord" is what this sermon on Philippians 4 is all about.

Paul was an elite in his culture he was born in the right country. He was born to an affluent family. He had power and influence. And here in this passage Paul makes one of the most offensive statements in the word of God. Paul says that all these things are worthless in comparison to knowing God.

A literal translation of this passage is "do nothing out of a hunger for glory". He pushing hard against the Roman culture of self exaltation. That same spirit is hard at work today in our culture. But the upside down gospel of Jesus says that if we seek humility then Christ will exalt us! He will lift us up!!! So wake up. Jesus is calling you to die to yourself and follow him. Will you answer?

We naturally live a very circumstantial life. We see the world and even Christ through the lens of circumstance. How would our lives change if we could learn to see circumstance through the lens of Christ? Like Paul we might be able to say in truth "To live is Christ, to die is gain"

How does Paul speak of an uncircumstantial joy while locked in a Roman in prison? It's because of how the gospel has taught him to see his circumstances and trust that God put him there. Paul's joy was not tethered to his comfort. Rather then asking God "why is this happening to me?", he learned to ask, "How can I be a part of what God is doing here?" So if you want joy that isn't tied to your circumstances, then we must learn to say: "Lord use me today, my life is at your disposal."

Paul writes to a struggling church and encourages them that God is at work in them in the midst of their hardship. He urges them to see beyond circumstances, to move towards one another, and trust that God is going to finish what he started.

We were made for the eternal rest of God, but what exactly is the rest of God? The author of Hebrews encourages us to enter that rest and to strive to do so. In this Easter sermon we learn how the finished work of Christ opens up the eternal rest of God for those who strive to enter it by faith.

What if we struggle to rest because of unforgiveness? The Bible teaches us that if we want to experience the rest of God, we need to release those who have sinned against us. In the same way that Christ forgave us and released us from our bondage, we are called to do the same for others. So who do you need to forgive?

Luke tells us about Jesus in a very unique way. It's all through the lens of "sabbath". Jesus defines, and begins his own ministry in terms of sabbath. Our God is committed to giving rest. If that is what Jesus was doing then.... Isn't that what Jesus would be doing now?

Sabbath is war against anything that would take God's place in your life. In the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath command comes immediately after the commands about God’s place in our lives. In Sabbath rest, we are remembering who God is and we are being like him and giving rest to others.

We can only rest if we trust God. In Exodus 16 God teaches his people how to trust him by giving them the Sabbath and teaching them how to rest. They had to let go of their anxiety about what they would eat tomorrow and trust that he would provide for them. What if the Sabbath would you rest from your anxiety?

Rest is an act of war in the cosmic realm, because when we try to rest we realize there is a war all around us. When we try to rest that’s when our taskmasters go to work. In this sermon we look at four snapshots from Exodus that show us who the taskmaster is and how he tries to keep us in bondage.

What is your relationship with work? And how does it keep you from rest? When God created the world he established a liturgy of time, a weekly rhythm of work and rest. But our relationship with our work is complicated. The fall of humanity twisted our relationship with our work. Sin lies to us and tells we were made for work and we can use our work to satisfy our deepest longings and identity. But our God gives rest, and he teaches us to rest before he teaches us to work.

Rest is intertwined into creation as God established his divine rhythm of time. In creation we learn that we were created for rest. But it's hard to rest when there's so much to do! It's easy to trade rest for escape. But God wants us to worship Him by resting.

Is it worth it follow Jesus? Ruth thinks so. To the degree that she commits herself to what she knows will be a life of destitution and poverty with her mother in law Naomi. Jesus is calling you to follow Him. Will you?

Five women are named in Jesus' genealogy. Tamar is the first. Why is she included in Jesus's genealogy and what does her story teach us about redemption? Her story is placed right in the middle of the Joseph story and appears to not make much sense. But you can't understand Joseph unless you understand Judah, and you can't understand Judah without Tamar. This is her story.

James gets at the heart of what "true faith" is. James remind you that what you do matters! Remember that God has not called you to a moment of faith, but rather a life of faith!

God called the first disciple to a life of faith. He calls every disciple to a life of faith. He's calling you too. Will you answer His call?

Why is Abraham tested by God? Why are you tested by God? How can God stay true to all His promises when life looks the way it does right now in this moment? Surely Abraham feels this when he is raising his hand with the knife. It feels like God is turning His back on Abraham, and on us. But we find out in this passage that He tests us because He loves us. How does this make sense? find out in this sermon about the life of Abraham.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is often reduced to a story about what God does to the wicked. We often don't graduate to a deeper understanding of scripture. It's not just a story about divine judgment… It's a story about divine mercy.